A Growing Home
by 73stargazer
Summary: Sequel to "You Can Always Come Back Home.". Post- Nemesis. Returning to the Enterprise from an Away Mission, Picard is surprised to learn that his cozy little home is expanding. Pure fluff.


A Growing Home

Synopsis: Sequel to "You Can Always Come Back Home.". Post- Nemesis. Returning to the _Enterprise_ from an Away Mission, Picard is surprised to learn that his cozy little home is expanding. Pure fluff.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to CBS, its parents and affiliates. Just taking the characters out for a jaunt around the galaxy, I warrant they will be returned in the same condition I borrowed them.

Sighing in relief, Picard silently drops his case to the ground, palming his face. After an excruciating day of travel, he had finally returned to his ship, and he could not be happier at the sight of his familiar bed and the woman he loves slumbering peacefully in it. Not wanting to disturb Beverly, Picard quietly disrobes, too tired to bother brushing his teeth or washing his face. He's absolutely convinced he will incur Beverly's admonishment in the morning, but right now all he wants to do is wrap his arms around her and succumb to sleep. Without preamble, he pulls back the covers and slips between the sheets, silently grateful that Beverly is a sound sleeper and not likely to be roused by his arrival in the room in the middle of the night.

Just as Picard is laying his head on his pillow, he moves to wrap his arm around Beverly and is alarmed by the feel of a small warm patch of fur next to Beverly's shoulder. "What the devil…"

The hairy ball mewls, turning a small head of pointy ears and piercing, glowing eyes at Picard.

Jumping back slightly, Picard shakes his head, somewhat startled. "Merde!"

A small, golden orange feline with wide green eyes stares back at Picard curiously, crying vocally.

Awoken by the sound of the cat's mewling and Jean-Luc's rather loud cursing, Beverly grumbles, turning toward Jean-Luc and the tiny kitten. "Jean-Luc?"

"What the devil is this?" demands Jean-Luc, sitting up right, gesturing toward the offending cat who has risen onto its hind quarters.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Beverly exhales wearily. "Oh, welcome home, dear!"

"What is a cat doing in our bed?" inquires Jean-Luc directly.

Gathering the orange kitten into her arms, Beverly straightens, cuddling the kitten close to her chest. "Isn't she adorable? Jean-Luc, this is Astra. I was so excited to introduce you."

"Where did you get a cat?" demands Jean-Luc, watching Beverly snuggle the cat, the kitten purring softly in contentment.

"She was a casualty from the destruction of the moon colony," explains Beverly, stroking the cat's back tenderly. "I treated her, nursed her back to health. I didn't know what to do with her once she recovered. There was no where else for her to go, so I brought her home with me."

"You took in a stray cat?" asks Jean-Luc incredulously, letting out a weary sigh.

Rolling her eyes, Beverly hugs the kitten possessively. "What was I supposed to do, Jean-Luc? She could have died."

Rolling his eyes, a tiny smirk plays in the corner of Jean-Luc's lips. "I'm gone a week, and you've adopted an alien cat."

Grinning, Beverly relaxes, her shoulders dropping.

"Get it off the bed, will you?" urges Jean-Luc, trying to remain serious, the minuscule smile on his lips giving his amusement away.

"Don't listen to Papa, Astra," coos Beverly, giggling lightly. "He doesn't mean it."

Sighing dramatically, Jean-Luc rolls his eyes, collapsing onto his pillow, hands palming his face. "Papa?"

Chuckling, Beverly lies back down beside Jean-Luc, settling the kitten between them. "She's a really good kitten, Jean-Luc. You're going to like her. I promise."

Rotating his neck to look at her, Jean-Luc raises a brow. "That is highly doubtful."

Astra cautiously sniffs at Jean-Luc neck before licking him, eliciting a loud groan of disapproval from Jean-Luc.

Giggling, Beverly strokes the kitten's back. "She already likes her papa."

"That's disgusting. Get it off the bed, Beverly," grumbles Jean-Luc, pushing the kitten toward Beverly.

"Oh, come on!" protests Beverly. "She's just being affectionate. You like it when I kiss your neck."

"Comparing yourself to a cat is really not going to help your case," remarks Jean-Luc wryly. "Please, remove it from my personal space."

Sighing in resignation, Beverly reluctantly fulfills his request, gently depositing the kitten into her soft cushioned bed on the floor on the other side of the room. As soon as the cat is abandoned and Beverly makes to return to the bed, however, Astra begins mewling, whining for attention. Rotating around, Beverly is torn between wanting to bring the kitten back into the bed and honouring Jean-Luc's request to remove the feline from his space.

"Damn it!" cries Jean-Luc. "Put that thing out in the living room."

"I tried that the first night," relays Beverly calmly. "She whined until I brought her in here. She doesn't want to be alone."

Shaking his head incredulously, Jean-Luc closes his heavy eyes, listening to the pitiful cries of the tiny kitten on the ground.

"Jean-Luc?" whispers Beverly tentatively, glancing between him lying on the bed and the distressed kitten in her bed.

"Bring it back," growls Jean-Luc.

Beverly drops down and scoops the kitten into her arms, instantly ceasing the feline's distress. She shuffles back into bed, holding the cat close.

"I'm sorry, Jean-Luc," Beverly whispers in the dark. "I should have ran this by you…"

Sighing wearily, Jean-Luc reaches for her hand. "No. It's okay. I'm sorry I'm so…miserable. I'm just tired."

Astra moves over to lick Jean-Luc's hand and Beverly cannot help but smile. "She really is sweet."

Resisting the urge to draw his hand back, Jean-Luc forces a smile. "Yes."

PAGE BREAK

Awakening to the familiar feel of Beverly's weight on him, Jean-Luc smiles with closed eyes as he feels her tongue trail a blazing path up his chest. Opening his eyes slowly, he encircles his arms around her back as Beverly moves up his body.

"Morning, my love," breathes Beverly against his lips, the vibrations sending a shiver down his pine.

Sending his hands down lower to grip her backside, Jean-Luc grins into her lips. "Morning, cherie."

"Let's try this 'welcome home' again, shall we?" suggests Beverly sensuously, parting his lips with her index finger, her hips meeting his. She had felt bad for the way he had come home in the middle of the night last night. She had wanted to greet him pleasantly after their week long separation, and instead his shock over Astra had put him in a sour mood. Now, she's determined to initiate a do-over, welcoming him back in a way that would convey how much she had truly missed him in his absence.

Tongues meeting, Jean-Luc is in full agreement with her plan, glad to be awakened by his lover. Just as he is freeing a hand to tangle in her mane, a small ball of orange fur appears at the side of his pillow, staring down at them curiously.

Halting, Jean-Luc's hand is stuck in Beverly's hair, and she has to break off to stare at him in bemusement, wondering what had sparked his sudden alarm. Spotting Astra, she breaks into a fit of giggles as the cat gently paws at Jean-Luc, requesting playful attention.

"Beverly!" groans Jean-Luc, shifting up right, urging Beverly with him.

Covering her mouth, Beverly tries in vain to stop laughing as the cat crawls into Jean-Luc's lap. "Oh, honey. She wants to play!"

Rolling his eyes, Jean-Luc sighs in exasperation. "So do I. With you!"

Swiping at her tears of laughter, Beverly rises to her knees, patting the cat's head. "She's probably hungry. I'll go put her breakfast out. Astra, you play nice with Papa."

Watching Beverly exit through the door, Jean-Luc shakes his head. "Cat, be grateful that I love your mother."

PAGE BREAK

Padding through the cabin door, Beverly shrugs out of her lab coat, silently thinking about scrubbing the day off of her in the shower. In this moment, all she wants is a long, hot shower.

"Hello, ma cherie," greets Jean-Luc warmly from his spot on the floor next to the sofa, sitting crossed legged next to Astra.

Pausing, Beverly appraises the unusual scene. Jean-Luc is tossing a cat nip-filled toy mouse around on the floor for Astra's amusement, apparently engaging the feline in a game. "Hi. What are you doing?"

"We're playing," announces Jean-Luc cheerfully, gesturing to a large scratching post next to the sofa. "I built this for Astra on my day off today, so she wouldn't scratch the furniture. She loves it. I got her some new toys from the ship store. I found her a collar. Look, it's the same colour as your uniform. Goes well with her orangey-golden colour, don't you think?"

Walking into the living area, Beverly's mouth falls agape, watching the kitten bat at the toy mouse. "Are you high on cat nip?"

Chuckling good-naturedly, Jean-Luc scoops the cat into his arms. "You bemoaned my detachment from your cat. I'm making an effort here. This…feline is now part of our home. I'm….adopting it….her. I'm welcoming her into her our family."

Grinning broadly, Beverly hugs Jean-Luc soundly with one arm, pecking his cheek. "Oh, thank you, love. See, I told you you'd grow to love her."

Smiling, Jean-Luc drops a gentle kiss to Beverly's lips. It had become rapidly clear that when Beverly had adopted the cat, she had instantly taken to it like it was her own child, and Jean-Luc was destined to lose any battle when it came to trying to rationalize with Beverly. Instead of arguing, he recognized he needed to embrace the pet, demonstrating to Beverly that he accepted the animal as part of their family, if their relationship were bound to succeed. It had taken some adjustment on his part, but, as she had forewarned, the animal had wiggled its way into his heart over time.

"Alright, Astra. Papa's going to get some drinks. Go to Mom." Shuffling the kitten into Beverly's arms, Jean-Luc halts, recognizing that he is talking to the feline as if it is a human child, in much the same manner as Beverly does.

Breaking into a ruckus of laughter at the sight of Jean-Luc's embarrassed expression, Beverly tries to turn away.

"Damn it, Beverly. Look what you've done to me," grumbles Jean-Luc ,deliberately distancing himself from her and the animal. "This does not leave this room!"

"Like hell!" scoffs Beverly. "I'm going to tell Geordi, right now. Then, I think a call to the _Titan_ is in order."

Hanging his head, Picard closes his eyes. Things had certainly gotten interesting since their family had expanded.


End file.
